Against the Tide
by November Fatale
Summary: Golden souls stray off path and fall into despair, blood and decadence. One Sorceress is lost without her knight and is forced into a dark metamorphosis. The fantasy dies and is replaced with harsh reality - manipulated by outer forces.


**Summary:** Just bodies, these golden souls with pictures were deleted, heaved into the ocean to drown with their brothers. Souls stray off path and fall into despair and blood and decadence. The Sorceress is lost without her knight and is forced into a metamorphosis.

**Author's Note:** I want to thank RoseOfADifferentColour for betaing for me! I hope you readers enjoy this fanfiction, it's my first actual Final Fantasy VIII fic and I hope that this story becomes a great addition to the Final Fantasy VIII archives. _I had this idea stirring around for awhile and had written some of it down already in previous years._ I've been wanting to write a fic for this fandom ever since I joined and again, can only hope you readers will like it!

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_With a high pitched hiss, chemically contaminated air escaped from the capsule situated at a corner of the medical lab, the hum of machines was audible, reverberating off the stainless steel walls. _

_Shafts of light spilled onto the floor, casting eerie shadows in their wake. _

_The device itself, glowing shades of green and blue revealed heavy frost patterns, cutting snakelike across the glass interior, catching the light and distorting the gas in swirling patterns, a tangle of multicolored wires became visible, buzzing with electricity._

_Contained within the capsule, hooked up to a multitude of medically oriented machines, was a dark haired young woman, pale skin tinged with purple and blue, an aftereffect of the cryogenic containment. _

_Her blood sat cold in her veins, pumping slowly through her._

_Slowly but surely, the water filling the container drained away, escaping through strategically placed holes at the bottom. _

_A monitor in the room measured the woman's heartbeat in steady pings, marking the slow pulse expected from one kept in cold storage for so long. _

_Once all the liquid spiraled down a nearby drain, clean air filtered through the pod, heating the woman's internal temperature, bringing a healthy color back to her frozen skin._

_The heart monitor picked up speed as she took in deep breathes her pulse quickening as she returned to consciousness._

_Weak with a marked lack of strength, she slumped against a side of the glass, eyes fluttering open slowly, acclimating to the new stimuli. _

_Vision cloudy and thought process hazy, it took the woman a few moments to connect surroundings to thought process. Objects in front of her were blurry, some seemed to ripple and distort. _

_Her fingers curled over a pane of the crystal glass as she hoisted herself up into a standing slouch. Coughing, water slid down the corner of her lips as she took another shaky breath. _

_The cool air bit into her skin, seeping through her soaked skin. _

_Her hair was a slick, gnarled mop atop her head; it cascaded like liquid ink over her shoulders, to stop at about mid torso, just under the curve of her chest. _

_The fresh flow of air reacting against the cold water sent the young woman into a round of shivering, teeth chattering in a non-voluntary attempt to warm up. _

_The sound of sliding doors caught her attention, vision directed towards the front of the room, smudges of black and red and silver flickered across her vision. At the arrival of the new presence, she felt a constriction in her chest, her heart rate increasing further. _

_Warmth stirred in her middle before turning ice cold. Slowly the presence advanced, footsteps sounding far away in her ears, before halting before her. Suddenly the sensation of fingers combing through her tangled hair accosted her, the individual's effort at a comforting gesture._

_The fingers trailed down to her chin, tilting her head up. _

_Looking through sooty lashes and damp hair, her eyes locked onto curled lips before bright spots of light danced in the peripheries of her eyesight, growing larger every second. _

_With a resigned sigh she felt herself drift back into unconsciousness as everything went black. _

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**_Author's Note:_** More to come, I hope you readers enjoyed the prologue. Remember to review, I honestly want to know your opinion so far even if it is just the prologue. Thanks again for reading! ^^


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